"One thing I have asked of the Lord, that shall I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple." Psalm 27:4 (NASB)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Calling Out Clutter

My yearning for simplicity began years ago. Searching for it has been an elusive journey along quiet roads and through tangled brush. Grasping it has been like trying to capture a butterfly with bare hands. Just when I think I've almost got it, it flutters away.

A year ago I realized I was exhausted, overwhelmed, out of control. I was still living life in frantic fragments. My joy was ebbing, my peace was fading, my energy was sagging, and my focus was blurring. By all appearances I was doing pretty well, except for the occasional--okay, frequent--temper tantrum and sometimes falling asleep on my keyboard because of only sleeping a few hours at night. But inwardly I was wasting away. I did not see a stamp of eternity on many of my activities, and I felt like I was chasing the wind.

Clutter had overtaken me again, and it was time to face it down once and for all. And although it was scary, I quit work to do full-time battle.

First, though, I had to call the enemy out, distill it down, in order to attack it. What I realized after several days--no, more like several weeks--of doing nothing but resting was that I actually needed to fight on 3 fronts. And I would have to simultaneously tackle them because they were working together to defeat me.

1. Home clutter.2. Head clutter.3. Heart clutter.

It was time to tear down strongholds once and for all, to throw off everything that encumbered, to once again find my true calling and walk in it. It was time to find my center.

I love what Thomas Kelly said: "Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple. It is serene. It is amazing. It is triumphant. It is radiant. It takes no time, but it occupies all our time. And it makes our life programs new and overcoming."